Education with a Higher Purpose
“Dear young people, you know that Christianity is not an opinion nor does it consist of empty words. Christianity is Christ! It is a Person, a Living Person! To meet Jesus, to love Him and make Him loved –– this is the Christian vocation.” St. John Paul II
St. John Paul II, whose feast day we just celebrated last Sunday, never tired of spending time with young people and telling them about Jesus with his words and by his actions. JPII, as he was fondly called by the youth, knew great suffering in his life and witnessed some of the most brutal regimes, but he knew the truth. He knew Jesus, he loved Him and made Him known to the world. In doing so, he fulfilled his Christian vocation. He is a modern-day example of how one person’s pursuit of holiness can literally transform the world (lest we forgot his incredible role in bringing down the Iron Curtain or the millions of young people whom he inspired to pursue a life of holiness or the way he was able to bring together Christians of all denominations just to name a few).
Likewise, through Chesterton Academy, our mission is to bring our students to this deep relationship with Jesus which St. John Paul II witnessed. Our classical curriculum, whether it is history and theology or math and science, will explore the central mystery of the Incarnation and lead students to a deeper love for Christ. Everything we do at Chesterton is done with the aim that our students will experience this transformative relationship and then be equipped to share Christ and the Christian world view with others.
Over the last few weeks, many of you have come along side us through your financial support to show us that you too believe in the mission of Chesterton Academy –– that you too see the incredible need to help our young people find their way in our current culture by leading them to the person of Jesus Christ. We want to ensure that this truth we have been teaching our children at home is also reinforced in our school. But beyond that, we know that whether it’s our child or someone else’s, our young people will be the ones to make the necessary changes to live in a world of peace tomorrow if they know the truth of Jesus Christ today.
For that reason, we move forward with our Cultura Vitae Campaign. As we have said before, fundraising is crucial to our success. We are in an “all hands-on-deck” moment. That is why we are inviting the larger community to join us in this exciting work. We are asking you to please share information about Chesterton Academy with anyone you think would want to have their children attend or financially support this school. Our reach will go much farther with your support.
1. We have started a waitlist for interested families. These families will be the first to have access to early enrollment next month. Because we have a cap on how large our school can grow and how many students we can accept in each grade, we know it won’t take long to reach our capacity. Please share this link to get on our waitlist: https://forms.gle/aFCxnHNNkhnyyCsP8
2. Please share our campaign page with those you believe can financially support our school. We had a great start by raising over $50,000 in two weeks during our first match challenge. We are on our way to meeting our goal and we are so grateful for your support. Our campaign page can be found at https://givebutter.com/3wdLos . We are a 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit. Our EIN # is 92-3479020 and verifiable on GuideStar.
3. If you know of any businesses that believe in supporting education, please let us know by emailing board@chestertonsarasota.org so that we may share our business sponsorship plan with them.
4. We know we are surrounded by incredibly talented individuals, and would be grateful for the gift of your talents. If you are interested in helping this apostolate, please fill out the committee volunteer form so that you may be matched by your area of interest. You can find that form here.
Last, but certainly not least, we ask for your continued prayers. Prayer is sustaining us. We are so grateful for your support. Together, we will accomplish much more and together we will thank God for the fruits of our labor.